Bowling ball and finger hole gripping insert



p 1957 cs. F. NOVATNAK BOWLING BALL AND FINGER HOLE GRIPPING INSERT I Filed Oct. 13, 1964 FIG. .2.

FIG. 3. F76. 4. F76.

5 7 G ,r. y W J F MW W United States Patent 3,342,488 BOWLING BALL AND FINGER HOLE GRIPPING INSERT George F. Novatnak, 3 3rd St., Beaver Meadows, Pa. 18216 Filed Oct. 13, 1964, Ser. No. 403,605 7 Claims. (Cl. 273-63) This invention relates to an insert for the thumb hole of a bowling ball and accompanying modification of the hole.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of an insert and thumb hole modification for a bowling ball, which presents a flat working surface for engagement by the thumb, which produces more comfortable and accurate control of the ball, without the feeling of unnaturalness which is characteristic of prior devices of this kind, and which eliminates the formation of calluses on the thumb, while desirably eliminating or substantially reducing crooking of the thumb, before, and as the ball is released.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an insert of the character indicated above, which is substantially incompressible, and is made of the same material is a bowling ball and impervious to perspiration, which is of radially inwardly flaring wedge shape, and is adapted to be glued or cemented in place, the outer part of the working surface of the insert being smooth and the inner part thereof corrugated.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a bowling ball, partly broken away and in section, showing a bowlers thumb engaged, in the balls thumb hole, with an insert according to the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary transverse section taken on the line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged side elevation of the insert, showing the fabric backing partially peeled off;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical section taken on the line 44 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is an elevation of the opposite side of the insert from that shown in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is an end view of the insert; and

FIGURE 7 is a horizontal section taken on the line 7--7 of FIGURE 5 Referring in detail to the drawings, a bowling ball B is shown, having circumferentially spaced radial finger holes 10 and 12, the latter being a thumb hole, in which a bowlers thumb 14 is adapted to be engaged in bowling the ball B.

An insert 16 is shown secured to the forward side of the thumb hole 12, the insert being shorter than the depth of the hole 12 and spaced from the upper and lower ends thereof. As shown in FIGURE 2, the insert 16 is substantially narrower than the diameter of the hole 12.

The insert 16 comprises a solid body of substantially incompressible plastic material, preferably of the same material from which the ball B is made. One form of such material is commercially known as Ball Mate compound formed with Ball Mate hardener.

The insert body 16 is of elongated wedge-shaped form, which flares from a narrow semi-circular outer end 18 to a wider straight bevelled inner end 20, and has straight inwardly flaring side edges 22. As shown in FIGURES 5 to 7, the insert body is segmental in horizontal cross section, and has a flat rear working side 24, and a convex forward hole engaging side 26, the sides 24 and 26 being in outwardly tapered relationship, and meeting in the relatively thin outer end 18. As shown in FIGURE 4, the upper part of the working side 24 is curvedly flared,

3,342,488. Patented Sept. 19, 1967 as indicated at 28, into the outer end 18, and the bevelled inner end 20' of the body is disposed at a forward and downward angle, between the sides 24 and 26.

The working side 24 presents a smooth upper portion 30, which extends for a major portion of the length of the side 24, and a roughened lowr portion 32, the latter extending from the smooth portion to the inner end of the body. The roughened portion 32 is preferably produced by shallow corrugations 34.

The forward side 26 of the insert body is provided with a coating of self-adhering pressure cement 36, which is covered by a removable fabric backing 38, which is adapted to be peeled off, as indicated in FIGURE 3, before application to the forward side of the thumb hole As shown in FIGURE 1, in order to provide clearance for the thumb knuckle 40, the rear side of the thumb hole 12 is sanded out, to the extent indicated by the phantom line, to provide a rearwardly and upwardly angled, concave indentation 42, of the rear side of the hole 12, reaching to the outer surface of the ball B.

As shown in FIGURE 1, the bowlers thumb 14 is engaged in the thumb hole 12, in the usual way and to the usual depth, whereat the ball 44 of the thumb engages the roughened lower portion 32 of the working side of the insert, and the smooth upper portion 30 is engaged by the part of the thumb above the ball 44, the thumb thereby being in a desired straight and uncrooked posi tion, which straight position is maintained, in the backswing of the ball, and in the delivery of the ball. Because of the greater distance between the outer end of the insert, and the indentation 42, the bowlers thumb comes out of the hole 12, on delivery of the bowling ball B, without suffering the abrasions which result in calluses, and the true delivery of the ball B is not adversely affected by the drag of the thumb emerging from the thumb hole 12.

What is claimed is:

1. An insert for a substantially cylindrical, finger hole of a bowling ball and particularly a thumb hole, comprising an elongated, rigid body formed of a material incompressible under normal finger pressure, said body having a convex side adapted to engage and be secured to the cylindrical wall of a bowling ball hole and an opposite planar side adapted to be engaged by the finger of a bowler, both said convex and planar sides extending substantially the entire length of the body and intersecting to form straight-line, lateral, longitudinal edges of said body, and said planar side being inclined with respect to said convex side so that said body has a small thickness at one end thereof and a greater thickness at the other end thereof.

2. An insert for a finger hole of a bowling ball according to claim 1 wherein said straight-line longitudinal edges incline away from each other from said one end to said other end of said body whereby the width of said insert is tapered being relatively narrow at said one end and relatively wide at said other end.

3. An insert for a finger hole of a bowling ball according to claim 2 wherein the junction of said planar side and said convex side at said one end defines a semicircle presenting a thin, single line edge.

4. An insert for a finger hole of a bowling ball according to claim 2 wherein said planar side is smooth at said one end and roughened at said other end.

5. An insert for a finger hole of a bowling ball according to claim 2 wherein said convex side is provided with a coating of pressure sensitive adhesive and a removable fabric backing covering said coating adapted to be peeled off prior to inserting the body in a finger hole of a bowling ball.

6. An insert according to claim 2 in combination with a bowling ball having a substantially cylindrical finger hole, said insert being adhered with its convex side engaging the forward portion of the cylindrical wall of the finger hole, and said one end positioned uppermost.

7. The combination according to claim 6 wherein the rearward portion of said finger hole opposite said uppermost end of said insert is notched to provide the upper end of said finger hole with an enlarged diameter.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,482,190 9/1949 Kramer 27363 2,485,471 10/ 1949 Bates 27363 2,777,693 1/ 1957 Mitchell 27363 3,078,097 2/ 1963 Mitchell 273-63 RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

G. J. MARLO, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN INSERT FOR A SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL, FINGER HOLE OF A BOWLING BALL AND PARTICULARLY A THUMB HOLE, COMPRISING AN ELONGATED, RIGID BODY FORMED OF A MATERIAL INCOMPRESSIBLE UNDER NORMAL FINGER PRESSURE, SAID BODY HAVING A CONVEX SIDE ADAPTED TO ENGAGE AND BE SECURED TO THE CYLINDRICAL WALL OF A BOWLILNG BALL HOLE AND AN OPPOSITE PLANAR SIDE ADAPTED TO BE ENGAGED BY THE FINGER OF A BOWLER, BOTH SAID CONVEX AND PLANAR SIDES EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE BODY AND INTERSECTING TO FORM STRAIGHT-LINE, LATERAL, LONGITUDINAL EDGES OF SAID BODY, AND SAID PLANAR SIDE BEING INCLINED WITH RESPECT TO SAID CONVEX SIDE SO THAT SAID BODY HAS A SMALL THICKNESS AT ONE END THEREOF AND A GREATER THICKNESS AT THE OTHER END THEREOF. 